The following is an opinion editorial by Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger. It introduces Intel’s 2020-2021 Corporate Responsibility Report.
I am honored to return to Intel as CEO, and both humbled by the challenges and excited by the limitless opportunities made possible by the magic of technology.
Digital technology is transforming the world at an accelerated pace, driven by what I call the four “superpowers”: cloud, connectivity fueled by 5G, artificial intelligence (Al) and the intelligent edge. They are superpowers because each expands the impact of the others. And together, they are reshaping every aspect of our lives and work. This goes straight to Intel’s purpose and my own passion: creating world-changing technology that touches and improves the lives of every person on the planet.
That potential impact has never been clearer to me than during this past year. We’ve seen unprecedented challenges, including a global pandemic that brought untold suffering with loss of life and livelihoods, heightened social injustice and inequities, and continued impact of climate change. As a technologist, I have been inspired to see the collective response to these challenges and the critical role technology has played, from the development of vaccines and new therapeutic treatments in record time, to the rapid deployment of online education and learning resources.
From my early days at Intel to today, I have been extremely proud of our company’s long-standing leadership in corporate responsibility and sustainability. This focus has positioned us to effectively create both long-term value and respond to the growing importance of environmental, social and governance issues to our investors, customers, employees and other stakeholders.
In May 2020, we outlined our 2030 RISE strategy and corporate responsibility goals for the next decade to accelerate the integration of responsible, inclusive and sustainable practices and innovative approaches in our operations and supply chain, across the technology industry and beyond. All of this is enabled through our technology and the passion and expertise of our employees.
While we are just one year into our work on these ambitious goals, I am proud of the progress and accomplishments detailed throughout this year’s corporate responsibility report. Most notably:
- In our own operations and supply chain, we made progress toward our 2030 goals of 100% renewable energy and net positive water use, increasing renewable energy from 71% to 82% and conserving 7.1 billion gallons of water in 2020. For the fourth consecutive year, we received a Leadership score in CDP’s Supplier Engagement Rating for our work to engage our suppliers to expand their climate and water disclosure.
- In collaboration with the industry, we launched the Alliance for Global Inclusion, a new coalition focused on creating a shared set of diversity and inclusion metrics in four critical areas: leadership representation, inclusive language, inclusive product development and STEM readiness in underserved communities.
- For larger global impact, we worked with over 170 customers, partners, governments, academia and NGOs on 230 projects around the globe through Intel’s Pandemic Response Technology Initiative to accelerate access to technology at the point of patient care and speed scientific research, ensure access to online learning for students, and aid in economic recovery.
As we look ahead, we will build on this momentum to drive progress and take us to even greater heights in 2021 and in the years ahead, including:
- Advancing diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion in our global workforce, and advocating for public policies and laws that combat discrimination and inequities impacting our employees and our communities, as well as taking actions to advance our 2030 goals, including doubling the number of women and underrepresented minorities in senior leadership and increasing representation of women in technical roles to 40%.
- Accelerating change across the industry, working with ecosystem partners to significantly expand global impact through responsible minerals sourcing practices, and collaborating to transform safety in transportation through Intel’s Mobileye business and Responsibility-Sensitive Safety (RSS) model and integration into standards development.
- Evolving the Pandemic Response Technology Initiative to become the Intel RISE Technology Initiative to create a broader platform for action to make a greater impact in the world. This expanded initiative will provide a disciplined framework through which Intel employees can work with customers and partners to solve problems and advance our RISE strategy and progress toward the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals through accelerated application of technology to global challenges in the areas of health and safety, inclusion and accessibility, and climate and sustainability.
We will help solve the world’s greatest challenges through deep technical collaboration with our customers, helping them transform their industries with radical innovation and leadership products, and achieve their own corporate responsibility goals. Along with customers, partners, governments and NGOs, we also will support smart policies that accelerate the creation of safe and secure digital infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and an inclusive and skilled future workforce.
I believe deeply in this company and the wonderful future we will create together. Our employees’ technology expertise and passion to have a positive impact in the world every day are what inspire my confidence that we can achieve our objectives for the next decade.
